It’s a small world after all

Growing up, my mom would order Disneyland family vacation planning videos, and I would watch them for hours. One ride that always captured my attention was ‘It’s a Small World.’

In 2014, I finally went to Disneyland and immediately went straight for ‘It’s a Small World’.

As the ride progressed, I was in absolute awe.

I was mesmerized with everything about the ride — the lights, the music and even the creepy animatronic people. There was something beautiful about that ride.,I think it’s how unified everyone was.

Blacks and whites were holding hands. Muslims and Christians were at peace. There were no terrorist groups. There were no refugees.

Everyone was helping everyone. There was no religious contention. Everyone was singing in unison in their own native tongue, and they seemed to all have love for each other.

As I sat in the ride, my heart yearned, hoping that eventually the world would be like this.

In light of the recent Orlando shooting, the whole nation gathered together.

Communities held vigils, hundreds have donated blood, and many are reaching out to the LGBT community.

Isn’t it sad that major crises like this make us realize how small our world actually is? It makes us realize that all Muslims aren’t bad people. That the innocent who died aren’t just numbers; they were people who were loved. We realize how we all need to hug our loved ones a little closer and a little harder.

It makes us realize that no matter how much gun control we have or how hard we fight terrorism, the world will always be the same because of one thing — hate.

Unfortunately, we live in a culture of hatred. Media, social media and society tell us who to love and who to hate. Hate is described as an intense, passionate dislike. Isn’t it sad how our social media can show that hatred simply by pushing an “angry” button?

We live in a culture where if we don’t agree with the article posted on our friend’s Facebook page, we tend to start a comment war, rather than just appreciating their post and moving on. We live in a culture where if I’m right, you have to be wrong.

Maya Angelou said, “Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one yet.”

Moments of crisis should not be the only time we realize how small ourworld is.

It needs to be a constant mindset. We should always be concerned about one another.

We should always listen and value each other, for that is the only way to create a culture of love.

Because, in the words of the infamous “It’s a Small World” song, I hope to see the day when, “It’s a world of laughter, a world of tears. It’s a world of hopes and a world of fears. There is just one moon and one golden sun. And a smile means friendship to everyone. Though the mountains divide, and the oceans are wide, it’s a small world after all.”